How to produce promotional video for Schools, Colleges and Universities

Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities

Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities is becoming very popular and institutions are all too aware of the power of video marketing when it comes to promoting admissions and appealing to prospective students and parents.

But all too often the video marketing output can look a little familiar. Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities tends to follow a familiar format and run the risk of becoming slightly bland. Because part of their target audience are the young people potentially going to the school, presenting original and engaging video marketing is vital.

So here are a few ideas on how schools, colleges and universities can produce promotional videos that will help them stand out from the competition.

Meet our students – current and past

Rather than using a scripted voiceover to tell viewers all about the school or college, why not let the Students do it in their own words?

Peer-to-peer recommendation is one of the strongest forms of video marketing (or any marketing for that matter) so presenting prospective students with first hand testimony from existing students is a powerful way to connect with your audience.

You could even use a mix of current and past students, and ask those who have gone on to successful careers how their time at the establishment benefited them.

As we’ve described before you should use a planned approach to your interview filming (you can’t just turn the camera on and hope that people will give you amazing quotes). Plan your interviews in reverse and start by thinking about what the ideal set of answers will be. Then base your questions around getting the students to give you these answers. Students being students, you’re guaranteed to get great additional quotes that you didn’t plan on using.

Meet our tutors – NOT in the classroom

Similar to the example above, an alternative to the ‘meet the students’ idea could be to meet the tutors. However, there’s a golden rule here. DO NOT fall into the predictable trap of shooting the tutor interviews in a classroom or staff office. They will look boring and unappealing. Students want a little more from tutors who are going to be key in shaping their futures, so show a little creativity with your locations. You could for example interview each tutor in a social location to reveal a little more about them and add some personality to your film. A maths tutor could be interviewed in the university bar, or a science tutor interviewed at the gym.

This not only generates interesting shots but it also gives the viewer a subtle tour of the best looking facilities at the same time.

A guided tour

While we’re on the subject of tours, another option would be to have a student or students give the viewer a guided video tour of the establishment. This can be positioned as a great promotional video for the college or university and has the all important ‘soft sell’ factor. You can really get creative with this option and meet various people along the tour who could contribute a line to the video.

Drone tour

Giving the viewer a birds eye view of the campus, facilities and local area is a great and dramatic way of showcasing its appeal. This kind of option wouldn’t have been imaginable just five years ago, but drone video cameras are now very affordable to hire and produce some truly stunning images. Obviously you will need a scripted voiceover with this approach, but don’t be afraid to drop the vocal now and again. If the footage is very dramatic then let the image and music do the talking for small sections of the film.

A day in the life

Finally, there’s an approach that produces a really engaging promotion video and is something that could position the school, college or university as original and innovative. Why not produce a ‘day in the life’ type film? Again this is an especially effective option for universities. The film can be narrated straight to camera by the subject and will take the viewer through their typical university day, including waking up in the comfy halls of residence, seeing friends on their way to class, enjoying a great lesson, chatting to a friendly tutor, taking part in a sporting activity and having fun and enjoying the university social and nightlife scene.

The film can be edited down to snapshots of the day and can be presented in a snappy and contemporary way. If done well, it will be engaging and fun and more importantly, very shareable on social media.

So there you have it: a few different ideas of how to make the best possible Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities. The key is to focus on your audience. Young people don’t want to sit through 10 minutes of scripted nonsense or boring pieces to camera from the principal. Keep it fun, original and reflective of your audience and you will produce video marketing that is infinitely more powerful.

About
fortyfoursixteen films

fortyfoursixteen films has over 15 years experience producing high quality video content for leading brands and organisations throughout the UK. Headed up by lead producer Neil Waddington we aim to create innovative, inspiring and engaging video for a wide variety of digital delivery platforms.